Patterns In The Mind: Language And Human Nature [Paperback]

Ray Jackendoff (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0465054625 | ISBN-13: 978-0465054626 | Publication Date: January 4, 1995

What is it about the human mind that accounts for the fact that we can speak and understand a language? Why can’t other creatures do the same? And what does this tell us about the rest of human abilities? Recent dramatic discoveries in linguistics and psychology provide intriguing answers to these age-old mysteries. In this fascinating book, Ray Jackendoff emphasizes the grammatical commonalities across languages, both spoken and signed, and discusses the implications for our understanding of language acquisition and loss.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In the late 1950s, Noam Chomsky revolutionized linguistics by proposing that the infant's ability to learn language cannot be explained by simple learning principles but is dependent upon the existence of complex, innate mental structures. Jackendoff explains the current state of Chomskyan theory by organizing his book around the question "What do we need in order to be able to talk?" In order to find an answer, he reviews fascinating material from developmental psychology, neurology, and the cognitive sciences as well as linguistics. He goes beyond the standard linguistics arguments to posit the existence of parallel mental structures governing other processes such as music and vision. The author is that rare creature, an academic who can convey his fascination with his field to the general reader. Highly recommended for all academic libraries, as well as for public libraries serving an educated populace.
- Mary Ann Hughes, Neill P.L., Pullman, Wa.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Jackendorf updates the ground-breaking investigation into human language introduced by Noam Chomsky as "generative linguistics," in a conversational, accessible style. After reviewing current language theories, he links language to broader human capabilities, his ideas founded on the hypothesis that there exists a genetically determined specialization for language that embeds grammatical principles within the human brain. Human experience, in this view, is constructed out of such principles, which operate in music, vision, and, most speculatively, in social organization. Jackendorf also introduces the reader to research suggesting that there are structural similarities between signed and spoken language, that creole languages are created by children, and that there is a link among adult language impairments, language development in children, and the age factor in both. Helpful restatements at chapter ends and a reading list organized by topic encourage mastery of areas only touched upon in Jackendorf's discussion. Virginia Dwyer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (January 4, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465054625
• ISBN-13: 978-0465054626
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #194,383 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth a read, but not really about "patterns in the mind", March 1, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Patterns In The Mind: Language And Human Nature (Paperback)

I picked this up after reading William Calvin's "How Brains Think," which I thought was pretty exciting stuff. While Jackendoff does present some interesting thoughts on how our brains are probably pre-wired for certain abilities (he discusses innate patterns in language, vision, and, less convincingly, in my opinion, cultural adaptation) I was hoping for a more in-depth discussion of how we humans function as pattern recognizing machines, so to speak, and what that means about our brains and how we experience reality. This is really more about linguistics than about "patterns in the mind." Still, in all, an interesting read, and I learned a few cool things about the brain and how it works.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling discussion of the language instinct, October 31, 2008

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Librum "6nomad9" (CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Patterns In The Mind: Language And Human Nature (Paperback)

PItM is a very interesting read -- a survey of linguistic, or perhaps more properly neuro-linguistic, thinking a decade or so ago. Since then, considerable advances have been made in the neurosciences, yet we are no closer to answering the fundamental questions Jackendorf poses about how and where, precisely, the brain 'does' language. PItM is, thus, no less compelling today for the passage of years since its publication. For anyone seeking a brief and easygoing introduction to the field, this is as fine a place as any to start.

11 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Basic concepts of language, August 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Patterns In The Mind: Language And Human Nature (Paperback)

This is a fairly well organized book for basic concepts of language. And some extrapolation of the conclusions on language is ventured for some other aspects of human nature. The Argument for Mental Grammar leads through the basic evidence leading to the conclusion that much of human language is innate. Any analysis of sentences leaves questions where rules underlying structure could arise. I would say it seems very introductory and add some negative remarks on the author's style.

He adds these silly pencil drawings a few times to help us "picture" his arguments. A bit childish. I wish the author would move a lot faster through the arguments. I get up to page 44 for instance, and here he is comparing the human brain operation to a videotape. What! When you're done though, you are left with a decent perspective on the language faculty. Keep writing reviews on these things people.